This album was released on March 14th this year. sleepingdogs is a duo comprised of rapper/producers andrew & Jesse the Tree. I’ve never really covered either of them before, but I’m a fan of both. I first discovered andrew when he was featured on ialive’s I’ll Wait Forever album in 2020. Before checking this album out, my favorite project from him was his Manual Labor EP. I didn’t really get into Jesse the Tree until last year. I really enjoyed his feature on Myles Bullen‘s last album, and I went on to enjoy his Pigeon Man album. My first taste of sleepingdogs was when they were featured on AJ Suede‘s Darth Sueder 7: Rogues Gallery. That was pretty good. Anyway, this album has some of my favorite cover art of the year, so that really drew me in. I knew I would enjoy it to some extent, but it ended up surpassing my expectations.

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The album begins with a highlight entitled stardawgs. I really love the melodic, warm-sounding production. andrew’s flow is really nice on the first verse.

Dusty drum breaks and crispy ass flows
I usher 'em into the gallows with dry bones
Treat it like some breaded chicken, dump 'em in an oil bath
Hardboiled eggs, deviled up like some spoiled brats

The way him and Jesse trade verses on this track is really awesome. They both killed this shit.

The pen and pad keep the dark away
Sparkin' purple haze like we in Osaka Bay
Odd stack, doggy, copy that, cup of coffee, black
Body that, lodi dodi rap, rip a motherfucker's heart in half

This is a really fun, energetic song. The production is fantastic, and same goes for the rapping. I really don’t have any issues with this song at all. I love the way they were going back and forth here. This shit is dope as hell. The second track is called flutes. This song honestly grew on me a lot with repeat listens. I really liked it when I first heard it, but now I love it. Once again, the production is fantastic. This is one of the best produced albums I’ve heard this year, and it’s because of songs like this. The opening verse from andrew is great.

I heard 'em saying "yo, why is you the best?"
I'm handin' out bodies like I'm breakin' up the eucharist
Tryna find peace, so I'm doin' me a buddhist stretch
But still I'm a dog, so here's a mouth full of chewed up flesh

I really love the sample that they used as a hook for this track. The weird horn sound is really cool. The second verse from Jesse the Tree is cool, but I was definitely more entertained by andrew’s performance. I did appreciate Jesse’s more unique flow though. Overall, this is another highlight for me. Again, it grew on me a lot. I think it’s dope as hell. It’s followed by fuzzy orange headband. I like this song, but I think it could’ve been better. The beat is just a bit too simplistic to me. The loop gets pretty old by the time the song’s over. I think some drums could’ve done a lot to push this song to the next level. I don’t have any issues with the actual rapping at all. I really love the first verse from Jesse the Tree. His flow and vocal delivery sound really good. The depressive lyricism towards the end of andrew’s verse really caught me off guard. I’m here for it though. I can definitely relate to this shit.

Some days I want that sweet euthanasia
'Cause most days, the truth, it don't save you, no
I'm not feelin' like a writer, I'm not feelin' like enough
I'm not feelin' how I'm feelin' 'cause I'm feelin' too much
And the thoughts in my head hit the ceiling too much
And this took a quick turn 'cause that's just how life does

I like andrew’s singing on the hook too. This definitely isn’t one of my favorite songs sonically, but the rapping is really good. I think it’s a good song. Track 4 is called joe cool. Once again, I really dig the melodic production here. andrew killed the first verse too.

I tried to make a telephone call to the sun
To say, "stay up," he said, "the moon's here, I gotta run"
So I pulled back the duvet to hurry in a new day
Light peaking underneath the blinds, so it's time
To grind up the beans, go and crack a couple eggshells
And do my best impression of a person who was made well
Been tryna live in defiance of defeat
Slash David's slingshot, with the Goliath I compete

The hook on this track is pretty nice. The main appeal of the song is just the production and verses though. The second verse from Jesse is great.

It's not a hobby, dog, I do it for cathartic purposes
Just so happens every verse is burnin' speaker surfaces
Pervis Ellison, I'm never nervous when the bell is hit
Weatherman chase a cumulus away like Evidence

I really fuck with this track. I think it’s dope. Track 5 is a major highlight called pigeon. I absolutely love the warm, comforting production, and the sung hook is fire.

I think I'm on the verge of a brain aneurysm
Accompanied by a heart attack and a loss of vision
Despite all that, I'll be the first to cross the ribbon
But they're still bound to treat me like a pigeon

You know who I would really love to hear on a remix of this song? I think Slug would sound perfect on this shit. I haven’t really been crazy about a lot of Ant’s recent production, so I think a Slug album produced by these guys would be amazing. I doubt we’ll ever get a solo Slug album though. Anyway, the opening verse from andrew is really nice, and Jesse the Tree killed the second verse.

I got a couple cool friends I would go to war with
Told stories cold as Souls of Mischief
JB feel that energy shift, I blow my enemies kisses
See my spirit fly into the mystic

I love this song. It’s definitely one of my favorite tracks on the album. It actually grew on me a lot. It’s one of the best songs I’ve heard all year. I think it’s dope as fuck. The following track, chipper jones, is even better though. Once again, I was pretty blown away by the production. This beat is amazing. andrew killed the first verse.

I used to live in the bottle like a little tiny sailing ship
Crawled my way out, decided to start nailing it
Told me I was done and that I should just mail it in
Instead I hand deliver what I made out of the skeletons

His flow is really nice. The second verse from Jesse is pretty awesome too.

I'm almost home, rap Chipper Jones
Clean a beat like a chicken bone
No crumbs or morsels, so quit the dawdling
If it's a war of wits, I will let you borrow all the water wings

I appreciate the alliteration with the letter W in that last line. He sounds great here. I really like his sung hook as well. This is one of my favorite songs of the year honestly. I think it’s incredible. Track 7 is called tired trees. Once again, I absolutely love the production here. Jesse the Tree kinda sounds like Onry Ozzborn at the beginning of the first verse to me. It’s just his voice that sounds kinda similar to me. They don’t really rap the same way. I really love his flow here though, and andrew killed the second verse.

I put the coffee in my cream, watch it transform
Careful with my steps like slow moves on the dance floor
If you don't want the answer, what you ask for?
I'm on the outside, but I'm looking through the glass door
My passport got a couple of stamps
I cut the chords on a couple of lamps
In the dark, had help from a couple of hands
Had to build me back up from the crumbling sand

The hook on this track isn’t really anything special to me, but it serves its purpose as a break between the verses well enough. I think this song is pretty dope overall. It’s followed by a song called navy blues. What really makes this song stand out to me is just the sung hook. I think this song has one of the best choruses on the album. andrew’s singing sounds really good. The opening verse from Jesse the Tree is great too.

Deep breath, I'm just gettin' my feet wet
Hard reset, my machinery defects
I lost count of all the ways that I cheat death
I guess holdin' on'll be the best revenge

The second verse from andrew is pretty nice as well. I think I liked this song more on my first listen of the album, but I still really fuck with it now. It’s just no longer one of my favorites on the project. It’s dope though. The next track is a highlight called mouthpiece. The production is fantastic. It’s one of the more detailed and robust instrumentals on the album. I really like how this song is structured. There’s just two verses here with no hook. The vocals on the intro and outro sound really phenomenal. andrew killed the first verse. I appreciate how andrew & Jesse the Tree have completely different flows from each other. andrew’s verses usually have a lot more syllables. Their voices are very different from each other too, which is nice. Jesse sounds really great on the second verse. I think this song is dope as hell. It’s followed by a posse cut called bowl of oranges, which features Zilla Rocca & PremRock. The opening verse from Zilla Rocca is really nice. He’s an artist who has really grown on me ever since I first discovered his music in 2019. I think he’s got a really good voice for rapping. PremRock killed the second verse on this track. I think he had the best verse honestly. He rhymed his ass off.

Surrealist escape, tell me what is real or what's fake
Choose the pill, life quite the pricey piece of real estate
If I gotta go, at least let me choose the hill
Read the whole cards on the dealer's face
Still life bowl full of oranges concealing the less appealing grapes
Interesting choice like teal drapes

Honestly, it’s one of my favorite features of the year. He really impressed me here. His flow and rhymes were on point. The third verse from Jesse was fire too. I loved that line where he said, “You motherfuckers ’bout as cool as the college republicans.” That’s fire. The closing verse from andrew is really great too. I really liked this couplet…

Said "don't meet your heroes," but most of mine are dead
And the ones who aren't are family and friends

All of the verses on this track are really good. I think this is one of the best posse cuts I’ve heard so far in 2023. It’s dope as hell. Track 11 is called sportsmanship. I really like the guitar-driven production on this one, and the opening verse from andrew is pretty tight. I dig the hook despite its simplicity. The second verse from Jesse is great too. I think I dug this song more on my first listen of the album. It was one of my favorites at first, and that’s not really the case anymore, but I still really fuck with it. I think it’s dope. The penultimate track is called slow dancing in the moshpit. The production here is pretty amazing honestly. It’s a really pretty instrumental. The first verse from Jesse is really great. I love his flow.

Memories drawn under the bridge
Drive slow, I could show you every home where my heart's lived
This is not some come to god shit
This is slow dancing in the moshpit
Ice cold, frozen faucet, fly like a Roswell saucer
Mind heavy, tongue caustic, ball like the jumpman conquers

The hook on this track isn’t really anything special to me, but it’s not bad. It’s kinda just there. I don’t mind it at all though. The second verse from andrew is really good.

They wanna fight me, I decline quite politely
'Cause I don't need a charge or a stain on my white tee
No one on my stage, I'm the hypeman that hypes me
Thirsty dudes obeyin' like they playin' for the Sprite team

This song’s got a great beat, and two really good verses. Again, the hook doesn’t really add much to the song for me, but everything else about this track is really enjoyable to me. I think this song is really dope. The closing track is entitled woah woah woah. Once again, I love the production here. This song has one of my favorite hooks on the album too. It sounds really great. Jesse sounds really nice on the opening verse too.

Before I fall asleep I think of a bar
Carve it in the sheep's wool, tallying my lucky stars
It's hard to keep on, the paperwork pilin'
Gaslight shinin', old cycles start chimin' in

The second verse from andrew was of course very good as well. I do think that the production gets a bit repetitive by the time the song ends, but that’s just a nitpick. Overall, this is another very dope track.

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^{This album is really great. I honestly think it’s one of the better albums I’ve heard so far this year. I like this more than any of the solo albums I’ve heard from these guys, and I think a lot of it has to do with the production. I really love the beats here. There’s not a single track on this album that I don’t like. Every single verse is enjoyable. I have some specific nitpicks with individual tracks, but I don’t really have any consistent gripes with this album as a whole. I think this project was a massive success, and I’m hoping this isn’t just a one-off collaboration because it works too well for these guys to not continue making music together. If you’re a fan of either of these artists, this is a must-listen album. It’s easily some of their best work. Don’t sleep on this shit. It’s really goddamn dope.}

Favorite Song: chipper jones
Least Favorite Song: fuzzy orange headband

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